Hitchiker that seems to be taking over

Florida Sunshine

Florida Sunshine

Member
I have these odd little polyp things that seem to be taking over my tank. Particularly in lower light areas.
Does anybody know what they are and how I can stop or at least slow them down? They don't look bad but don't look good either and when they were in small patches I just considered them a sign of life in the tank and left them alone.
 
Oxylebius

Oxylebius

Well-Known Member
I'm sorry to say that these are hydroids (hydrozoans) and are not items that you would want in your tank for a number of reasons, including the issues of them spreading and stinging coral that you want in your tank, as well as stinging fish. The best method is to manually remove them at the base with tweezers. Just be sure not to touch them as you might get a nasty sting!
 
Florida Sunshine

Florida Sunshine

Member
That is not going to be a fun process. They are in several areas some of which I can't possibly reach. Well I guess the best answer is to get started with the ones I can. That will take a while and at least minimize the potential damage. I have a somewhat different patch that I couldn't get a clear picture of. I will try again and see if they are a different version of the same thing.
Thanks for the ID.
 
Pat24601

Pat24601

Well-Known Member
Florida Sunshine said:
That is not going to be a fun process. They are in several areas some of which I can't possibly reach. Well I guess the best answer is to get started with the ones I can. That will take a while and at least minimize the potential damage. I have a somewhat different patch that I couldn't get a clear picture of. I will try again and see if they are a different version of the same thing.
Thanks for the ID.
Click to expand...

:(

Yeah, that didn't sound fun when she posted that and I looked at your picture.

Is it possible to take the live rock out and clean it out of the tank? I know in mine that wasn't doable as my live rock was all epoxyed together.
 
Florida Sunshine

Florida Sunshine

Member
It would require a complete tear down. The rock that has these is a large rock at the base of my scape. Actually though, thinking that way, I have a lot more LR sitting in my sump. I might be able to just remove this rock entirely. Unfortunately there are several other areas as well some on rocks with corals growing on them. Those at least I will have to nap with tweezers I guess.
I just did a little quick reading on these things. They are actually jellyfish. I would have never figured that out. They look like polyps to me. That's why I love having my experts here. Some things I am just clueless about.
 
Pat24601

Pat24601

Well-Known Member
Florida Sunshine said:
It would require a complete tear down. The rock that has these is a large rock at the base of my scape. Actually though, thinking that way, I have a lot more LR sitting in my sump. I might be able to just remove this rock entirely. Unfortunately there are several other areas as well some on rocks with corals growing on them. Those at least I will have to nap with tweezers I guess.
I just did a little quick reading on these things. They are actually jellyfish. I would have never figured that out. They look like polyps to me. That's why I love having my experts here. Some things I am just clueless about.
Click to expand...

Oxylebius specifically knows her stuff when it comes to marine life. She's very impressive. :)
 
spiraling

spiraling

Well-Known Member
Oxylebius said:
I'm sorry to say that these are hydroids (hydrozoans) and are not items that you would want in your tank for a number of reasons, including the issues of them spreading and stinging coral that you want in your tank, as well as stinging fish. The best method is to manually remove them at the base with tweezers. Just be sure not to touch them as you might get a nasty sting!
Click to expand...

Hey Oxy,
From the image i would have guessed some sort of paly. What are the distinguishing features for hydroid identifications?
 
Oxylebius

Oxylebius

Well-Known Member
Hello @spiraling - I may be wrong from time to time b/c it can be tough to ID from pics sometimes, but based on the picture that is posted, these are colonial hydroids. Pretty common. You can find numerous pics on forums if you want to do a internet image search for 'colonial hydroid'. You will find many different colonial hydroids online.

There are sooo many different types of hydroids it is hard to explain them. Many have solid structures, tube-like creatures, with stinging tentacles. The colonies are generally small, no more than a few centimeters across, but some can be several meters (drifters). They may have a tree-like or fan-like appearance, depending on species. The polyps themselves are usually tiny, although some non-colonial species are much larger.

Things to look for:
-- size of oral disc
-- size and shape of stinging tentacles (pointed or rounded)
-- hard structure or not (at the base)
-- overall size of individuals and whole colonies
 
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